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avic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of
the 5th century AD. Up until the creation of Mieszko's state and his subsequent
conversion to Christianity in 966 AD, the main religion of Slavic tribes that in
habited the geographical area of present-day Poland was Slavic paganism. After t
he Baptism of Poland the new religion accepted by the Polish ruler was Catholici
sm. The transition to Christianity was not a smooth and instantaneous process fo
r the rest of the population as evident from the pagan reaction of the 1030s.[23
]
Piast dynasty
Main articles: History of Poland during the Piast dynasty and Gesta principum Po
lonorum
Map of Poland (Polish: Polska) in 960 992 under Mieszko I
Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around t
he middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historical
ly documented ruler, Mieszko I, accepted baptism in 966 and adopted Catholicism
as the new official religion of his subjects. The bulk of the population convert
ed in the course of the next few centuries. In 1000, Boleslaw the Brave, continu
ing the policy of his father Mieszko, held a Congress of Gniezno and created the
metropolis of Gniezno and the dioceses of Krakw, Kolobrzeg, and Wroclaw. The pag
an unrest however, led to the transfer of the capital to Krakw in 1038 by Casimir
I the Restorer.[24]
King of Poland Mieszko II Lambert (c. 990 1034). Earliest known contemporary depic
tion of a Polish ruler
Prince Boleslaw III Wrymouth defeated the King of Germany Henry V in the 1109 Ba
ttle of Hundsfeld, writes Gallus Anonymus in his 1118 chronicle.[25] In 1138, Po
land fragmented into several smaller duchies when Boleslaw divided his lands amo
ng his sons. In 1226, Konrad I of Masovia, one of the regional Piast dukes, invi
ted the Teutonic Knights to help him fight the Baltic Prussian pagans; a decisio
n which led to centuries of warfare with the Knights. Elements of what is called
now human rights may be found in early times of the Polish state. The Statute o
f Kalisz or the General Charter of Jewish Liberties (issued in 1264) introduced
numerous right for the Jews in Poland, leading to a nearly autonomous "nation wi
thin a nation".[26]
In the middle of 13th-century the Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty (Henry I
the Bearded and Henry II the Pious, ruled 1238 1241) almost succeeded in uniting t
he Polish lands, but the Mongols devastated the country and won the Battle of Le
gnica where Duke Henry II the Pious died (1241). In 1320, after a number of earl
ier unsuccessful attempts by regional rulers at uniting the Polish dukedoms, Wla
dyslaw I consolidated his power, took the throne and became the first King of a
reunified Poland. His son, Casimir III (reigned 1333 1370), has a reputation as on
e of the greatest Polish kings, and gained wide recognition for improving the co
untry's infrastructure.[27][28] Casimir also extended royal protection to Jews,
and encouraged their immigration to Poland.[27][29]
Malbork Castle of the Teutonic Knights.
The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as
y, and Polish nobility became one of the most educated groups in
The library catalogue of the Cathedral Chapter of Krakw dating
s that in the early 12th-century Polish intellectuals had access
erature.
Casimir III realized that the nation needed a class of educated people, especial
ly lawyers, who could codify the country's laws and administer the courts and of
fices. His efforts to found an institution of higher learning in Poland were fin
ally rewarded when Pope Urban V granted him permission to open the University of
Krakw.
The Golden Liberty of the nobles began to develop under Casimir's rule, when in
return for their military support, the king made serious concessions to the aris
tocrats, finally establishing their status as superior to that of the townsmen,
and aiding their rise to power. When Casimir died in 1370 he left no legitimate
male heir and, considering his other male descendants either too young or unsuit
able, was laid to rest as the last of the nation's Piast rulers.
Poland also became a magnet for migrants. Germans settled in the towns; the Jewi
sh community began to settle and flourish in Poland during this era (see History
of the Jews in Poland); the same applies in smaller number to Armenians. The Bl
ack Death which afflicted most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 affected Poland
less severely.[32][33]
Jagiellon dynasty
Main article: History of Poland (1385 1569)
Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God. Painting by Jan Matejko, 1873.
The rule of the Jagiellon dynasty spanned the late Middle Ages and early Modern
Era of Polish history. Beginning with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Wladysl
aw II Jagiello), the Jagiellon dynasty (1386 1572) formed the Polish Lithuanian unio
n. The partnership brought vast Lithuania-controlled Rus' areas into Poland's sp
here of influence and proved beneficial for the Poles and Lithuanians, who coexi
sted and cooperated in one of the largest political entities in Europe for the n
ext four centuries. In the Baltic Sea region Poland's struggle with the Teutonic
Knights continued and included the Battle of Grunwald (1410), where a Polish-Li
thuanian army inflicted a decisive defeat on the Teutonic Knights, both countrie
s' main adversary, allowing Poland's and Lithuania's territorial expansion into
the far north region of Livonia.[34] In 1466, after the Thirteen Years' War, Kin
g Casimir IV Jagiellon gave royal consent to the milestone Peace of Thorn, which
created the future Duchy of Prussia, a Polish vassal. The Jagiellons at one poi
nt also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of Bohemia (1471 onwards)
and Hungary.[35][36] In the south Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire and the
Crimean Tatars (by whom they were attacked on 75 separate occasions between 1474
and 1569),[37] and in the east helped Lithuania fight the Grand Duchy of Moscow
. Some historians estimate that Crimean Tatar slave-raiding cost Poland one mill
ion of its population from 1494 to 1694.[38]
Wawel, the seat of Polish kings. Krakw was the nation's capital from 1038 until t
he move to Warsaw in 1596
Poland was developing as a feudal state, with a predominantly agricultural econo
my and an increasingly powerful landed nobility. The Nihil novi act adopted by t
he Polish Sejm (parliament) in 1505, transferred most of the legislative power f
rom the monarch to the Sejm, an event which marked the beginning of the period k
nown as "Golden Liberty", when the state was ruled by the "free and equal" Polis
h nobility. Protestant Reformation movements made deep inroads into Polish Chris
tianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tol
erance, unique in Europe at that time.[39] This tolerance allowed the country to
avoid most the religious turmoil that spread over Europe during the late Middle
Ages.[39] The European Renaissance evoked in late Jagiellon Poland (kings Sigis
mund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus) a sense of urgency in the need to prom
ote a cultural awakening, and during this period Polish culture and the nation's
economy flourished. In 1543 the Pole, Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer from T
orun, published his epochal works, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the R
evolutions of the Celestial Spheres), and thus became the first proponent of a p
redictive mathematical model confirming heliocentric theory which became the acc
epted basic model for the practice of modern astronomy. Another major figure ass
Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani
a acceded to the throne in 1764, reigning until his abdication on 25 November 17
95
During the later part of the 18th century, the Commonwealth made attempts to imp
lement fundamental internal reforms; with the second half of the century bringin
g a much improved economy, significant population growth and far-reaching progre
ss in the areas of education, intellectual life, art, and especially toward the
end of the period, evolution of the social and political system. The most populo
us capital city of Warsaw replaced Gdansk (Danzig) as the leading centre of comm
erce, and the role of the more prosperous townsfolk increased.
The royal election of 1764 resulted in the elevation of Stanislaw August Poniato
wski, a refined and worldly aristocrat connected to a major magnate faction, to
the monarchy. However, a one-time lover of Empress Catherine II of Russia, the n
ew king spent much of his reign torn between his desire to implement reforms nec
essary to save his nation, and his perceived necessity to remain in a relationsh
ip with his Russian sponsor. This led to the formation of the 1768 Bar Confedera
tion, a szlachta rebellion directed against Russia and the Polish king that foug
ht to preserve Poland's independence and the szlachta's traditional privileges.
Attempts at reform provoked the union's neighbours, and in 1772 the First Partit
ion of the Commonwealth by Russia, Austria and Prussia took place; an act which
the "Partition Sejm", under considerable duress, eventually "ratified" fait acco
mpli.[45] Disregarding this loss, in 1773 the king established the Commission of
National Education, the first government education authority in Europe. Corpora
l punishment of children was officially prohibited in 1783 as first in the world
at all schools.[46]
The Great Sejm convened by Sta